In 1999 David Hawkins, 72 with no prior history was prescribed Zoloft because he felt out of sorts. He felt strange, took four, hallucinated and strangled his beloved wife of fifty-two years and tried to kill himself. (Regina v Hawkins [2001] NSWSC 420)

Merrillee Bentley, (30), made two attempts to kill her children and herself while taking Efexor. R v B SCWA 67/2004.

The author has assessed more than 10 such homicides, and many attempted homicides, assaults, frauds, robberies, furious driving, parental incompetence and professional and sexual misconduct cases all occurring in the context of suffering acute or chronic akathisia with behavioural dyscontrol caused by psychiatric drugs, mostly antidepressants prescribed for stress. All has diminishing mutations in genes that produce metabolising enzymes.

The size of this epidemic cannot be underestimated. One in five Australians takes antidepressants, the main but not the only culprits. If the condition is not recognised, imprisoned perpetrators continue to have these serious adverse reactions.

The epidemic fills prisons and hospital beds. It is underpinned by pharmaceutical industry frauds of unspeakable proportions that are being successfully litigated by whistleblowers and attorneys under the False Claims Act in USA and winning billions of dollars for state coffers. Revealing what is known internationally has met with hostility, rejection and denial. The NSW Medical Board (Council), the Director of Public Prosecutions, Legal Aid and colleagues have launched a merciless assault on this truly expert and Daubert-competent evidence, as much the province of pharmacogeneticists, pharmacists and scientists, as forensic psychiatrists.

The inability to metabolize medication can be demonstrated by examination of DNA for Cytochrome P450 activity or evaluation of drug reactions and interactions.